Truth of the Heart
by DCoD
Summary: Rogue and Gambit are on the outs again. To hear the truth about his feelings from Gambit's own mouth, Rogue casts an insy winsy tiny little spell...
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This is completely my own, except the spell which was taken from many a Charmed episode. I decided to have a bit of fun considering my boredom grows ever-so-much, and I've really been needing to get my inner-Rogue out. This doesn't take place at any specific time or anything; to be completely honest, I've only read a few X-Men comics, but with the old cartoon and the multiple websites, I hope I did this well, so don't flame me because I did something wrong... most likely, I know I did it, and I apologize. It's meant to be fun! Also, I'm winging all accents and speech patterns, heh. Enjoy!_

**Truth of the Heart**

Yet again, the young mutant known as Rogue stormed into her room, slamming the door behind herself before leaning back against it and sliding down to sit on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest as tears trail down her cheeks. She banged the back of her head slightly on the door, muttering to herself underneath her breath. "Ah can't believe it," she repeated in a whisper. "Ah jus' can't believe it."

Sure... she _DID_ break up with Gambit for the '_nth_' time since they became teammates in the X-Men; she knew the problems they'd have from the beginning, but every time she wanted to make it work, something reminded her why it couldn't, and that was the excuse for the countless break-ups. Rogue just didn't expect to see Remy already moving on not even four days afterwards and flirting with other women.

"Maybe he nevah loved me," Rogue mused from her seat against the door, her tears still cascading down her face. Her gloved hands raked through her long curls, the white part falling away from her damp face and the brown shuffling behind her shoulders. She grimaced as she thought on her last sentence. She knew it wasn't true; Remy had to have loved her if they got back together so often. "Maybe he don't love me _anymore_," she corrected herself on a sigh.

The young woman pushed herself to stand up again, and ventured across her room to her low bookcase. She squatted down in front of it, and started pulling out her numerous romance novels. "Where is it?" she pondered. "A-ha." She brought out a small, thick book, its cover worn and fuzzy from age. Rogue went over to her bed, sitting down on the bedspread and crossing her legs. "There's only one way ta find out for sure." She opened the old spell book, flipped through several pages, then found the one she was looking for. "Spell ta hear the truth." Quickly, she went to lock her door, then returned to her seat on the bed, wiping off the tears on her face. "Ah sure hope this works." She took a deep breath, then began to recite the spell.

"For those who want the truth revealed,  
open hearts an' secrets unsealed,  
from now 'till it's now again,  
aftah which the memory ends,  
for those who're now in this house,  
shall hear the truth from their own mouths."

For a few quick seconds, a light breeze blew around the mutant, a sound of quiet, ringing bells accompanying it. Tiny balls of light swirled around the room, then disappeared through the walls and the floor, everything becoming still and silent once again.

Rogue blinked, shook her head, and mumbled, "Weird." Quickly, she put the book away, behind the romance novels again, and after unlocking it, she cautiously peeked out of her door. No one was in the halls. "Still early an' all," she told herself in a whisper. She took a deep breath, then ventured out of her room.

She made it to the kitchen before running into someone. Jubilee was rummaging around in the fridge for something to chew on. "Hey Jubes," Rogue greeted her before going toward the breadbox on the counter.

"Hey," Jubilee returned, shutting the fridge while munching on a handful of grapes.

Rogue could feel her stare on her as she put some bread in the toaster. After pushing the lever down, she turned toward the younger girl to see her staring at her. "Wha'cha starin' at, Jubilee?" she asked finally on a sigh.

"Just wondering why a mutant with dangerous skin walks around dressed like you do," Jubilee answered bluntly. Both women's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh, wow, Rogue... I-I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that!"

Rogue looked down at her light blue denim shorts and the yellow half-tanktop she wore, and then looked up at Jubilee. "Don't worry 'bout it, sugah," she replied, and turned to fetch her toast. She knew why; the spell had worked on everyone in the house, which meant she would be able to find out the answers to her questions.

On the way out of the kitchen to the dining room, Rogue was almost literally ran into by Wolverine. "Hey darlin', watch where you're going," Logan warned as she steadied herself, then continued into the kitchen.

Rogue turned to watch him as he dug into the fridge. "Watch where _AH'M_ goin'?" she returned, raising an eyebrow at him as he cracked open a soda can. "Ya ran inta _me_. Where was yar mind, Logan?"

The can poised on his lips, Logan replied, "Thinking about Jean's ass." Jubilee giggled, Rogue rolled her green eyes, and Logan choked on his gulp of Pepsi. "I didn't just say that, did I?" Both women nodded. "Damn... It's just... DAMN!" Logan then stomped out of the kitchen, cursing up a storm.

Speaking of, Ororo was the next person Rogue encountered. She ventured into the dining room to enjoy her toast, and spotted the weather goddess already seated, reading. "Mornin', 'Ro," Rogue greeted.

"Good morning, Rogue," Storm returned, glancing up briefly to smile at her friend before returning her attention to the newspaper in hand.

Rogue sat across from Storm, admiring how well put-together the elder woman always was in the morning; for Rogue, it took until the afternoon to feel anything but groggy half the time. How could Storm do it? "Ya readin' the national news, 'Ro?" the young mutant asked after swallowing a few bites of toast.

"No, the comics," Storm replied. Rogue nearly dropped her toast, and Storm blinked rapidly for a few seconds at the confession.

Finally, Rogue laughed. "So... um, all these years in the mornin', ya've been readin' the comics instead'a the news?"

Storm automatically answered, "Not all the time. Only the past few years have I taken a liking to the morning comics." Again, Ororo blinked in surprise. "This is odd. It is like I have no control over my answers, no urge to shield them."

Rogue, though, was having a delightful hoot over this. After finishing her toast, she asked, "What's yar favorite?"

Storm's eyes flickered from the newspaper to Rogue across the table before returning to the pages in her hand. "Foxtrot."

That had Rogue giggling the entire trek back to the kitchen to wash her plate.

* * *

_Reviews are always appreciated!_


	2. Chapter 2

The whole mansion was affected by the spell. Throughout the day, truths were flying from people's mouths when they were asked direct questions, some hurtful, some not.

"Why are you being such a stick in the mud, Scott?" Jean asked her husband as she strode from their bedroom, trying to remain as calm as possible, though her anger was getting the better of her quickly.

Scott hurried out to catch up with her. "Because I don't want you doing something that could tempt you away from me!" he answered without pausing. Immediately, he stopped, blinking behind his specialized ruby quartz glasses. He never _intended _to tell Jean that, but when she asked, he couldn't stop himself. How strange...

Jean turned to look at him, infuriated. "What, you don't trust me now!" she shouted, her fists clenched at her side. "Is that it!"

"I trust you, Jean," Scott returned, "but you are attractive, and I know there are mutants out there with more powerful telepathy than you that could pull you away." His mouth clamped shut. Why was he telling her things he never intended to tell her but was telling her anyway?

It didn't help her anger any. "I'm perfectly capable to protecting myself against them, thank you," she mumbled, turning on her heel to head down the hallway again.

Scott wanted to follow her, stop her from doing whatever she would eventually do, but he couldn't. She knew she needed her space. Instead, Scott sighed, turned, and went into the bedroom to spend time alone and think until she decided she wanted to talk to him again. "This could be a long night."

Meanwhile...

Jean had turned the corner, and found Logan coming toward her. "Hey Red," he greeted. "I heard shouting, and I came to investigate. Everything okay?"

"No," Jean replied, having wanted to say yes. Inwardly, she wondered why she didn't. 'Strange,' she thought. "Scott's just being an asshole."

Logan smirked. "Well, that's ole One-Eye for ya," he returned. "Always got that perpetual stick up his ass." Jean cracked a smile, which only got Logan's mind whirling again. He knew Jean loved Scott, but he couldn't help but wonder if the redheaded telepath had wayward thoughts, possibly about him even. "Jean, ya ever think about other guys?"

Jean thought it was an absurd question, and was about to answer as such, but instead, she admitted, "Yes, I do." It caught both of them off-guard. Jean wished she could retract that, but it was in the open now. She sighed. "Why do you ask?"

Here, Logan wanted to lie, but the words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop himself. "I was wondering if you thought about me in the 'let's find an empty room and have a blast' kinda way." As soon as it was said, Logan wanted to kick himself. Talk about being forward! "Th-that's not what I meant..." Yet it was. It was exactly what he wanted to say. Why didn't he stop himself!

"It's not?" asked Jean, an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, I did mean it that way." Dammit! He was contemplating turning and just walking away now, but then his pride got in the way. He wouldn't just 'walk away' from the woman he'd been wanting since the day he'd stepped foot in this mansion because he admitted the truth. Logan smirked again, then asked, "Well, do you think of me that way?"

Jean so wanted to answer 'no', then continue on her way to blow off some steam. Her mouth opened and worked before her brain could think, though. "Frequently." Instead of frowning when the question was answered, she smiled, and laughed at the look on Logan's face; one of a little boy getting the one toy he always wanted.

Logan's heart was thumping loudly in his chest, and Jean admitting how she thought about him was enough to 'start his engine'. A wide grin spread across his face, revealing his sharper-than-natural incisors. "Then what are we waitin' for?" he inquired, then grabbed Jean around the waist, hoisted her onto his shoulder, then ducked into a spare bedroom as the redhead continued to laugh, locking it behind himself.

* * *

Rogue hadn't seen Remy all day, and she was beginning to worry. The spell would almost be done come morning. It would be a shame to have cast it, and then have it turn out that this was one of those days Remy took off for a few days or weeks to be by himself. 

"Where _is_ he?" she wondered, sitting near a window in one of the downstairs living rooms. She'd been staring out at the night for a good half-hour now, and a couple of her teammates had teased her about it already. She ignored them.

A single headlight turned into the start of the long driveway of the mansion, and Rogue's heart leapt. As the light got closer, she grew more sure that it was Remy; the motorcycle veered off toward the garages, and in the light, Rogue saw his profile, one she'd learned by heart time and time again.

Immediately, she moved to the other side of the room, taking a seat that didn't look at the windows. She didn't want to appear desperate, especially not to Remy. She grabbed the television remote, and started flipping through channels nonchalantly. She was impatient. Rogue really wanted to talk to Remy before the spell wore off. What was taking him so long getting inside?

Remy walked down the hallway that led from the garage on one end of the mansion to the huge kitchen on the other. His head was full of thoughts, and most were about ways to go about things. With a sigh, he shook his head, his brown hair shifting around his face and shoulders. The long bike ride hadn't cleared his head as much as he wished it had.

Hearing footsteps, Rogue looked toward the hallway, and saw Remy start by. "Hi sugah," she called out lightly.

Remy paused before turning to look into the green eyes of the woman who managed to turn his world upside down every day. "Evenin', chere," he returned, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "Ain't it a bit late for you t'be up?"

Rogue glanced over at the digital clock on the VCR/DVD. It was past midnight. "Ah guess so," she answered, turning off the TV. "A'course, Ah can change mah habits sometimes, can't Ah?"

Remy blinked his red-on-black eyes a few times. "Yeah, suppose so," he answered. For a few strained moments, neither said anything, though both wanted to say so much. Finally, Remy blew out a breath, and asked, "I'm headin' for da kitchen. You want anyt'ing from-"

She cut him off by standing up, then headed past him to lead the way down there. "Ah can get whatevah myself, Remy," she stated. "Ya know that."

The mutant called Gambit simply followed the Southern belle, not really complaining; the view was great, as usual. Sometimes, when this lovely lady broke up with him, he stuck around long enough to watch her leave, and he'd have some motivation to try to make up with her.

They reached the kitchen, and Remy immediately headed for the fridge, needing food. He'd been riding around the entire day without stopping for a bite to eat. Rogue waited until Remy had gotten what he needed before going into the fridge to grab a soda.

She watched him inhale the three huge sandwiches he'd made for himself as she drank the can of Pepsi, wondering when to ask him. Rogue waited, though. She didn't want to appear too obvious too soon.

Remy didn't know why Rogue was so silent, but he assumed it was because they were, after all, officially over once again. He gulped his last bite as he wished it weren't so. Still, there was nothing he could do except try to make Rogue see he was willing to try anything to stay in her life. He took his plate to the sink, rinsed it off, then turned to her. "It's been a long day, petite," he told her. "Remy t'ink he jus' gonna head on up t'bed."

Rogue nodded. "Yeah, Ah guess Ah should be gettin' up there, too," she responded. "Ah'll walk ya up."

"Fine by me," he returned, and followed her toward the staircase.


	3. Chapter 3

They made it to their floor, and stood by the stairs. In a few minutes, she would go right, and he'd go left, but neither wanted to say goodnight just yet. There was so much on their minds, so much they wanted to say, but they didn't know how to express it all.

Remy swallowed hard, his throat parched already. "Well... I guess I'll be headin' dis way," he said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder toward the direction his room was in.

"Ah guess so," Rogue answered. "Um... g'night, Remy."

"Sweet dreams, chere." Remy turned, and walked toward his bedroom, his shoulders slumped. Why didn't he talk things out with her, like he'd wanted to? What made him keep quiet?

Rogue watched his back, and finally snapped into action. "Remy, wait!" she called, running after him. Remy stopped, turning to see what Rogue wanted. "Sugah, Ah gotta ask ya somethin', somethin' real important, okay?"

Remy smiled slightly, enough to make Rogue's heart do flip-flops all over again. "I'm all ears."

Rogue took a deep breath, ran her fingers back through her hair as if trying to gather her courage, then finally asked, "Do ya love me?" She didn't know why she was so scared; with the spell she'd cast, he had no choice but to tell the truth.

Remy's smile softened as he considered the question. Such a simple one, and yet, the answer would always be the same. Why did she need to ask? "I love you, Rogue," he told her, looking in her green eyes deeply, knowing he could so easily get lost in them. "You made dis Cajun's life wort' somet'ing. It hurts knowin' dat you might not want me around sometimes, but... I can always say dat I know I found my soulmate. Not many people can claim dat dese days."

Rogue could only smile at his words. What she'd give to simply throw her arms around him, kiss him breathless, and show him how much he means to her and how much she loves him. Unfortunately, all that could be lethal to him. Instead, she said to him, "Oh, sugah, ya jus' made mah life. Ah love ya, too, like nothin' Ah've evah felt before." Suddenly, she whapped him on his clothed chest with her gloved hand. "So what were ya doin' flirtin' with them girls!"

He laughed after getting over the initial shock of her sudden mood change. "Chere, Gambit only did dat t'make you jealous," he answered, turning on his charm. "He knew you was watchin', and decided t'see how you'd react t'him movin' on."

"That was a horrible thing, Remy LeBeau!" she retorted, but didn't really mean it. Her smile gave her away.

They were interrupted with an animalistic growl sounding from Remy's room. Both looked at one another with quizzical looks on their faces, then Remy turned to his bedroom door, trying to open it; it was locked. "What da hell..." he mumbled, then started pounding his fist on the door. "Hey, open up!"

It was a few minutes before the door unlocked and opened. Out stepped a disheveled Logan and Jean, both adoring great big grins. "Sorry 'bout that, Cajun," Logan rumbled, running his hand down Jean's back to squeeze her ass, making her giggle. "Your room was closest." The two headed in the direction of Logan's room.

Remy's and Rogue's eyes were wide as they watched the pair head off. "What in da world is goin' on here?" Remy asked, shaking his head as he turned toward Rogue.

She immediately answered, "Ah cast a spell ta hear the truth from ya, an' it hit the entire house, too. Ev'rybody's been spoutin' out the truth when asked a question." Immediately, Rogue clamped a hand over her mouth, realizing too late the spell's effects were at work again.

Shocked silence followed. Remy's brows furrowed as he thought, then asked, "Did ya think Remy would lie to ya, chere? After all dat we've been t'rough?"

Rogue didn't want to answer, but the spell was stronger than she was. She pulled her hand down, and replied, "Ah jus' wanted ta know the truth, an' the only way Ah could be absolutely sure was ta cast that spell."

Remy desperately wanted to cradle her face in his hands and wipe that sorrowful, scolded look from it, but he didn't have gloves on. Instead, he took her gloved hands in his, and raised them to nestle them on his face. "Ma cherie, I can't ever lie t'you, ever," he firmly stated. "I never had intention t'do dat t'you. You're all dis man could ever hope for, and more than I feel right askin' for." Tears collected in Rogue's eyes. God, she loved this man, more than even she knew. "'Cept one t'ing..."

Rogue sniffled before giggling. "What's that, sugah?"

"Looks like Gambit be needin' a room somewhere's else," he returned, a wide grin spreading across his lips. "Remy ain't sleepin' where da runt was gettin' some wit' Jean. Dat just ain't gonna happen." He carefully settled his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him. "Mebbe he can stay wit' you tonight, non?"

She laughed again. "Ya're still'a charmah, swamp rat," she declared, swatting his arm as Remy chuckled. "C'mon then. Ya can have mah bed." She took his hand in her's, and led the way to her bedroom.

"And where're you sleepin'?" Remy asked her as she turned down the covers on the bed after she changed into pajamas and he stripped down to his boxers.

Rogue stood upright, and carefully maneuvered around him to avoid touching his flesh with her's. "The carpet's soft enough," she reasoned, shrugging one shoulder. "Should be jus' fine."

"Non, non, non," Remy returned, tugging on her sleep tank, making her turn around again. "You sleep in da bed, too, chere."

Rogue lifted an eyebrow. "An' jus' how do ya think ya're gonna manage not gettin' yarself drained or worse?" she demanded to know, her hands on her hips.

Remy was already putting on his jeans before Rogue finished her question, and then slipped on his long-sleeved T-shirt. "Hop on in dere, Rogue," he told her. She did, settling herself under the covers, and Remy followed, settling in behind her and sliding his arms around her waist.

Rogue wasn't satisfied, though. "What 'bout yar face, sugah?" she asked. "An' yar hands?"

Remy simply smirked as he rested his chin against the back of her head, over her hair, and returned, "I'll take my chances, chere."

* * *

The next morning's dawn brought a grin to both Southerns' faces. Remy hadn't gotten absorbed, and Rogue didn't have more of him in her mind. Remy left to go down to his room to dress, allowing Rogue her privacy. After she dressed, she realized it was rather late. She met Remy in the hallway, and the two of them ventured downstairs together.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, they were greeted with "Good morning" from the rest of the team. Sitting down, they ate with them while listening to the conversation.

"You came in kinda late, Jean," Scott said softly, rubbing her back.

Jean nodded, and replied, "I don't know why, either. I guess I was real busy in the medlab or something." She tossed down the napkin in her hand, and scooted backward in her chair. "Speaking of, I should probably go check to make sure."

"I'll come with you," Scott said, and got up. The married couple left the room, Jean walking a bit funny as she went.

The others soon departed, leaving Rogue and Remy alone in the dining room. Rogue burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. "Oh, the poor woman don't remembah..." she said through gasps.

"Why don' she remember, Rogue?" Remy asked, looking at his lady love. "I sure remember seein' her and Logan leavin' my room da way you did, and that it was da spell's doin'."

Rogue suddenly stopped laughing. Remy remembered? Everyone was supposed to have forgotten what happened during the time of the spell. "Ev'rybody's supposed ta forget what happened when the spell was active," she answered, then furrowed her brow. "Why do you remembah what happened?"

"Prob'ly because I wasn't in da mansion when you cast it, chere," he slowly replied, as if thinking. "I left right aftah I saw ya turn and head up da stairs yesterday mornin'."

"So ev'rythin' ya said last night... ya were tellin' the truth?"

Remy smiled, and leaned close enough to whisper in her ear, "Da trut' straight from da heart."

**_Fin_**


End file.
